On the August day he first met with his players, McMahon didn't get into all the reasons he came to UF from Mississippi State, a school with six returning freshmen All-Americans. He didn't get into the national championship he wants to win.

"I want you to do what's right all the time," said McMahon, a Jacksonville native who pitched for Stetson. "I want you to do the best in everything you do. And I want you to treat others as you'd like to be treated."

On Sept. 19, Joey Simon, a right-hander projected as the Gators' No. 1 starter, was arrested at Florida's McKethan Stadium. Simon admitted to stealing about $3,000 worth of tires and rims from a truck and placing them on his. Simon had let McMahon down and soon after was dismissed.

"That was a statement, a value statement and a moral statement," junior right-hander Alex Hart said. "[McMahon] did what he believed he had to do.

"This [program] is going to be run first class. He's going to do everything right."

Though former Florida coach Andy Lopez did a lot of things right in his seven seasons -- he won 278 games with two Southeastern Conference regular-season championships and made five NCAA tournament appearances -- there was a sense a change was needed.

McMahon has returned the recruiting focus to the state of Florida, with eight of his first nine Gators signees in-state.

Shortstop Justin Tordi of Orlando was the first prospect McMahon visited, and the story behind the trip tells a lot about Florida's new coach. While at the Tordi home, McMahon noticed a Gators flag displayed by a neighbor. McMahon suggested he and the Tordis pay a visit to the house. Before long, that family and other Gators supporters in the neighborhood were engaged in what amounted to a community conversation.

"Before I knew what kind of coach he was going to be, I knew what kind of a person he is," senior Mark Kiger said.

The Gators opened the season with wins of 25-1 and 12-2 over Charleston Southern and 11-7 over Mercer. This weekend's three-game series at Miami is big because the Gators have struggled with in-state opponents over the past few seasons and were 3-9 against Miami (0-4), Florida State (2-2) and Stetson (1-3) last season.

"Stetson is a good program," Hart said. "But we need to win those games."